This is a classy and fresh take on a Dicken's classic tale. It has been said that the casting is colour blind and that is a very accurate description and doesn’t take away from the great performances of the overall film.
Directed by Armando Iannucci, his adaption of Charles Dicken's David Copperfield taps into the humanity and optimism of this story which means that we don't see the darker side of this novel yet this adaptation is still amazing to watch. We don't get to see the sad and unfortunate fate of David Copperfield's love Dora () and there a number of famous line missing. Iannucci and his co-writer Simon Blackwell were more concerned with telling this story in a more light-hearted while bringing in a more diverse cast. Copperfield is not only on the search for happiness but searching for his place in the world and his identity. We see him struggle for most of the film to understand who is really is as a variety of different characters all call him different names. It is only at the end he finally discovers his own identity and also his identity as a writer.
This film is a mixture of many things from drama to comedy and at times there is absurdity. The characters all have big personalities, they are all very different which makes them really interesting and engaging to watch. With all this being said, this is a very fast paced film, the energy is always high, thus you never get bored as there is something constantly happening.
The Personal History of David Copperfield has a star cast from the likes of Tilda Swinton to Hugh Laurie, all these big names work so well in this film. They all bring their own uniqueness to their characters which results in some amazing performances throughout.
Dev Patel is David Copperfield, he is our open-hearted and kind hero, who is brought up mainly by his nursemaid Peggotty (played by Daisy May Cooper) who starts his love of language. When his innocent and delicate widowed mother (Morfydd Clark) gets married to the abusive and cruel Mr Murdstone (Darren Boyd), who installs his just as cruel sister Jane (Gwendoline Christie) as housekeeper. David is then sent away which becomes an episodic series of places, not all which are pleasant. We see a bottle factory, a school, law chambers, the rural home of his aunt known as Betsey Trotwood (Tilda Swinton) who can be seen chasing donkeys off her land while supporting her lodger Mr Dick (Hugh Laurie). The sweet-natured Mr Dick is played by Hugh Laurie who puts on a really sweet performance, we become to really love this character and it is a joy when Laurie is on the screen and in a scene as he is funny. Betsey sponsor's David's ascent to become the status of a gentleman and repays her by uncovering a plot to steal all her money.
Copperfield encounters a variety of different characters on his adventures, not all who want the best for him. We meet the creepy Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), Heep encourages the alcoholism of his employer Mr Wickfield (Benedict Wong). Along with this we encounter David's charming but troubled upper-class friend Steerforth (Aneurin Barnard) and Mr Micawber (Peter Capaldi) and Mrs Micawber (Bronagh Gallagher), these two are always one step ahead of the debt collectors. This couple are performed with real gusto by Capaldi and Gallagher and it is a joy to see their faces. Finally, there is the dog-loving Dora with whom David falls head over heels in love with, played by Morfydd Clark who also played his mother at the start of the film. It is an interesting casting choice to have the same women play David’s mother and love interest. In classic style, David doesn’t notice the real love interest, which is right under his nose, who turns out to be Mr Wickfield's smart and cunning daughter Agnes (Rosalind Eleazar).
A star cast with amazing performance throughout, there isn’t a performance that you can really fault. Each performance from each character/actor is perfect and each adds so much to the overall story.
In this film there an overall emphasis on poverty and homelessness yet it is fast paced and very entertaining film to watch. This film has a great cast and a main character who we can really invest into. The Personal History of David Copperfield is all about David finding out who he really is and the journey he goes on is heart-breaking at time and hilarious at other times, it deserves to be watched by all as it won't disappoint.
